Oracle and Red Hat are extending their
Linux partnership into Asia with a new $13 million dollar initiative in Singapore, the two
companies said on Wednesday.

The first joint Oracle/Red Hat Linux Enterprise Applications Porting (LEAP) Center
is designed to be a hub for the region to help assist Independent
Software Vendors (ISV) and systems integrators with migrating, certifying,
optimizing and ultimately delivering Linux solutions.

"Demand for open source and Linux in APAC has grown significantly," Red Hat
spokesperson Leigh Day told internetnews.com. "Red Hat and Oracle are
strategically aligned to expand the adoption of Linux and Oracle solutions
running on Linux internationally. This is another milestone in the
relationship we've had with Oracle for years."

According to Day, the market potential in APAC is very strong for Linux
solutions, something that the new center will strive to support.

"This center will support ISVs in India, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia,
Philippines and Singapore," she said. "Also, the Singapore government
recognizes the significance of Linux as an enterprise platform and has
strong support for efforts like LEAP to 'skill up' and contribute to the
country's technology capabilities."

The LEAP center provides access to both Red Hat and Oracle resources,
including software development test beds, mission-critical support for
pilots and flagship users, as well as an Intel architecture validation and
tuning lab. The intention is that the center will help to accelerate Linux
adoption in Asia Pacific by increasing the availability of enterprise-grade,
third-party Linux applications.

"Third-party application availability will be the next driving force for
Linux adoption," Keith Budge, regional managing director of the South Asia
Region for Oracle, said in a statement. "This is a ground-breaking
achievement for Singapore."

Asia is poised to be a significant market for Linux adoption, which is a fact not lost
on many involved in the Linux industry. The market for open source Linux
products in Asia is seen as a ripe opportunity by many Linux vendors.
According to IDC Japan statistics, the Linux market in China is expected to
reach $41.9 million by 2008 and $105 million in Japan by 2007.

Earlier this month, Linux distribution vendor TurboLinux
announced
that it won a contract to provide Linux operating systems for
China's Ministry of Railways.

The Open Source Development Lab (OSDL), the so-called 'center of gravity for Linux,' continues to
expend its energy into growing Linux in Asia. It recently hired
Masanobu Hirano, former president of Red Hat Japan and general manager of
Red Hat North Asia, as its director of Asia, a position that is mandated to
oversee the OSDL's initiatives in Japan, China and Greater Asia.

"With our Lab and active working groups in Japan, as well as our growing
efforts in China, we feel confident that the demand in the region for Linux
will continue to grow," Paula Hunter, business development director for the
OSDL told internetnews.com.

Oracle is no stranger to the Asian Linux market, as it is a
strong backer of another Asian Linux distribution effort known as 'Asianux.'
Asianux is a joint effort between Japan's Miracle Linux and China's Red Flag
Software who
created it in January
to dominate the Asian Linux market. Asianux benefits from the widespread
support of the Chinese government and Oracle. It recently
released its
first beta and certified over 40 industry vendors.